eightk

End of another era! The LC has vanished from the Lexus website completely but Toyotas website says “The GR Supra is currently unavailable to order. Contact your local dealer to discuss placing an order for a GR Prius or some crappy front wheel drive hybrid SUV instead”

Dubai, where I’d guess thieves get their hands chopped off. Yes please.

My LC needed a tracker for the insurance. Completely invisible and not a deterrent at all. I’ve stuck a Scorpion sticker on the windscreen and upgraded to include an immobiliser so at least the car theoretically can’t be started, although the bumper and wheelarch liner will already have been ripped to bits by that point. Hopefully the sticker will put them off 😐 I cannot express in words exactly how pee’d off I am with Lexus doing nothing at all to sort this. Yes RX owners have invisible steel plates on offer, if you’re lucky enough to find out about them via this excellent forum, but it doesn’t stop the initial damage unless EVERY car is protected through software changes or free immobiliser fitting for EVERY car at risk via an official manufacturers recall. Oh, and I specifically asked the service guy in my dealer last week which new Lexus are still at risk. He was adamant a new RX is still vulnerable. That’s not what I’ve read on here. Hopefully he’s wrong.

It’s not just London although it could be argued cities will be higher risk. It’s basically anywhere there’s a Lexus.

Shame. Lexus need to get a grip on this, the same as Land Rover have done, while insurance is still just about possible, or they’re literally not going to be selling any more cars as their reputation will be down the pan.

Also look at a tracker and immobiliser and windscreen stickers to advertise the fact. Even with the plates fitted they’ll still try it as there’s no visible signs the car has been protected. Either Lexus sort every single car as Land Rover could be doing so thieves know they can’t be stolen with ten quids worth of electronics, or they’ll end up uninsurable and unsellable.

My two favourite LC colours are the yellow and orange - it’s worth picking Blazing Carnelian just for the name 😎

Yes only one red. Note most Lexus colours have different names in different countries too - Nori Green = Terrine Khaki Green etc. Those pics look like they’ve overexposed them on a dull day. Beware painted wheels too, unless you like ‘em - refurbing the 21” chrome/black wheels is expensive and difficult, assuming you can find someone who can actually mask off and recreate the original finishes. New wheels are available though, over two grand each I believe - could be a good negotiating point!

Personally I think 2020 means you're paying for the newer car but not getting the '21 improvements eg carplay, suspension etc but it is good value for the age. I'd go for this early sport plus for ten grand less, and sell the bodykit bits. Sport plus, might even have the early exhaust, sensible miles. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311164021339?sort=price-asc&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Petrol&make=Lexus&model=LC 500&postcode=m11ad&fromsra Or the yellow '23 one. My favourite LC colour by a mile - it's really metallic-ey and pearl-like. Go on, you know you want to!

Way to check for the daft filter is to look at the bhp - 471 bhp is pre GPF (mid 2018 and earlier as far as I know - I’m not sure Brett is right on that) with the best sound, the same as the rest of the world is still getting, whereas is it’s 464bhp it’ll have a slightly (slightly!) worse exhaust note as a result of the particulate filter. But you’ll feel so much better about yourself behind the wheel of your non-stop/start naturally aspirated post-‘18 5 litre V8 knowing your particulates are reduced 😶

Don’t discount the convertible - there’s more noise because of the soft top, plus all convertibles are 21 model year onwards with CarPlay and the ally suspension components etc that SavageGeese on YouTube gets excited about. You lose with no rear steer but I don’t know how important that is to you. My guess is 21 onwards there are more soft tops than coupes, I think the introduction of the convertible rekindled buyers a little, so there’s potentially more choice in used cars. And the roof comes off! Almost every year Lexus announced model year tweaks to gearbox programming, damper adjustments etc but the only big changes were that 2021 update and the latest touchscreen 2023 cars. One downside is the canbus vulnerability so your insurers may well require a tracker and it’s definitely worth fitting an immobiliser to prevent actual theft, but sadly not the damage involved in accessing the canbus system. I’m looking at motorbike alarms and Clifford/Viper systems at the moment, with a view to adding wheelarch vibration or proximity sensors to warn off anyone thinking about fiddling with the front bumper or arch liner. Other than that, there is literally nothing on the market that’d get me out of mine. The noise, the build, the looks, the reliability - there’s honestly not much else to compare it with, although if you’re buying brand new I suppose all new cars have warranties. Reviews are literally 99% positive, whether you’re reading magazines or watching YouTube. Evo magazine put the LC up against a Ferrari, Aston and Bentley, all tens of thousands more expensive, and it did really well even against that sort of competition. Another option could be an earlier coupe - there are more cars available, more chance of red over black, more chance of just buying one straightaway, you do lose CarPlay but on cars built before mid 2018 you also lose the GPF exhaust filters the newer eu cars get, so the exhaust is as Lexus intended. Plus they’ll all still be eligible for the ten year warranty until at least 2027. Do it!

I’d have a conversation with the dealer specifically mentioning the theft weakness being your major sticking point as per your list above. Then test drive the NX - and if that’s got the same canbus problems…

Actually it’s Regatta Inspiration I’m thinking of - eg that lovely dark blue with white leather one on here. A lot of the data doesn’t make sense but it does suggest they’re all incredibly rare, even the standard cars like mine. Good point on the other limited editions, rarer still - Regatta Insp - 8 so far, maybe excluding that blue one in Cardiff with 10 miles on it. How many are convertible? Maybe 6-7?! Black Inspiration - 10 - again maybe half are convertible? I’ve never seen a convertible one for sale. Hokkaido - 4. Never seen one, coupe or conv. Ultimate edition - zero. Production started September but it’s anyone’s guess if any came to the UK. End of an era.

Not many! There’s only been the standard LC500, the Sport +, and the Regatta that were convertible I think? No hybrids as the battery won’t fit. I’ve seen the odd car registered in 2020 but I reckon they were mostly demos or for the press, first deliveries being late on in 2020. There are definitely many more 21 plates. Looking at the above link, for petrol there are only 303 taxed in total since 2017, but no way to segregate softtops. New registrations inc hybrids for all of 2020 to now are 158 inc coupes and hybrids. Then narrow it down on new regs for Sport + and so on and guess at the conv/coupe split. I’d guess the convertible was at least as popular for 2021 onwards as the hardtop… possibly more so… so my uneducated guess is no more than 50-60 cars in the UK. Autotrader has 11 convertibles for sale right now - that’s loads more than ever before. Cheapest is GU70PYL at 75k which has been driven by every journalist in the western hemisphere from looking at YouTube. Then there’s three new/nearly new 2023 touchscreen cars at 99k to 115k. There were at most 3-4 cars available in February when I bought mine - a sign of the changes in the used car market there I think.

Speak to your dealer and politely enquire why the juddering f ck they didn’t issue a recall. For the RX the canbus plates are available, owner data is available, and Lexus should be stepping up and fitting as many RX with the plates as they can find. Then they can start on the rest of us.

I did wonder how they managed to sell a non turbo 5 litre V8 and still tick all the envirogubbins boxes. Throttlehouse’s video suggests they’ve been carbon offsetting Priuses to do it - that’d be hilarious if it was true. Mines 2021 and doesn’t even have stop start 😂 Shame!

A positive post and it does prove the plates work, but by that point sadly the bumper is ruined.

This this this this this. Lexus need to sort it. Quickly.

Anybody still got cracked ribs? I have some excellent jokes to see if they're healing ok.

When I was a kid I used to get given fillings without anesthetic. Since leaving home aged 18 I've been to a dentist ONCE in 35 years. They can fleece somebody else for their LC funds!

Naah, you're just classier than the rest of us 😂

BMW owners on the other hand are finding their wheels are easy to remove - like, completely. Not sure a disclok would stop this 😁 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG8rl9CGoSM&t=54s&ab_channel=StewartClarke

Sports cars : TVR Griffith x 2, Maserati Grancabrio MC, R107 Merc 500SL, Alpina B3 convertible. Not sports cars : Tesla P100D (0-60 in 2.5 seconds), Kia Stinger, Audi A7, another CLS55 with the supercharger, original square Audi 80 Sport, VW Corrado with a 2 litre Audi engine and twin carbs, and lots of slower stuff. My first Lexus is both the newest and the most expensive car I've ever bought, and also probably the best!

Trackerteam were doing an insurance approved Scorpion S5 tracker and a Ghost for 499 all in a while ago so there are cheaper options out there...

Another great review. And from what they showed, the touchscreen heated seats solution doesn’t seem any less fiddly than what we’ve got now. Think I’ll stick with my elegant dash and chrome launch spec wheels. They really do ‘get’ the LC 😎